Food and food experiences are a huge part of local culture in Armenia. Wherever your travels take you around the country, most encounters with local people, one way or another, end up around the coffee or dinner table. Don’t be surprised – hospitality is genuine in these parts, and a gathering around a table with local people is arguably one of the best ways to connect with local culture and tradition, not just in Armenia but in any destination.
If you missed part one of the best food and wine experiences to be had, check it out here. And without further ado, here’s part II of the best foodie experiences that aren’t to be missed in Armenia.
Sample six of the best Armenian dishes on a Yerevan Gastrotrip
This private walking food tour is a sampling of Armenian cuisine that covers the basics, the staples, the musts, the greatest hits of a truly international country and people – Armenia! Following an expert storytelling guide, you’ll stop at 6 of the best eateries in Yerevan and try 6 carefully selected dishes that tell the story of the Armenian people. You’ll learn all sorts of information, like why Armenians break bread by hand (and never with a knife) or how to properly wrap cheese and greens in bread, a favorite Armenian snack. Along the way, you’ll also learn more about Yerevan, country capital and cultural melting pot – in English, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, or Armenian.
Coffee and fresh baked sourdough at Caffeine Coffee Roasters
Founded in 2016, Caffeine Coffee Roasters is a third wave coffee roastery based in the mountain resort town of Dilijan. By visiting their cozy kitchen just outside the town center, you can grab a fresh brew along with freshly baked bread from Ootelie, an artisan sourdough bakery founded by the same folks behind Caffeine Coffee.
Experience a traditional lavash making ceremony at Tsaghkunk Restaurant
This restaurant, located in the quaint village of Tsaghkunk, is all about showcasing local ingredients and recipes. You can enjoy a reasonably priced modern Armenian meal at their beautiful restaurant, which actually hosted Michelin-star chef Mads Refslund, cofounder of NOMA (named the best restaurant in the world twice by Michelin) in 2021 for a week-long dinner series. Here at their historic bread house, located right next to the main restaurant, you can see and learn how traditional Armenian lavash bread is made, enjoying it fresh out of the underground oven with local cheeses, followed by dinner.
Make a cheesy shepherd’s meal in a village setting at TUC
TUC is an eco campground in the beautiful little village of Dsegh, where, together with a local chef, you can learn how to make yegh u shor [yegh oo shohr], a traditional cheese dish typically eaten by mountain shepherds in the Lori province, using fresh local cheese and bread. Part of the profits from this experience go to support the Edible Plants in Armenian Cuisine Festival that takes place in Dsegh every year, which you should also check out if you’re a foodie.
Make and enjoy ghayfa, a nearly forgotten local drink at Chalet Gyumri
Ghayfa [ghay-fah] is a hot drink that was wildly popular in the city of Gyumri that's all but forgotten today. Brewed just the way traditional Armenian coffee is, ghayfa is made not from ground coffee beans, but from ground roasted wheat. Just as local people today across the country gather around hot cups of unfiltered black coffee, so did locals in Gyumri gather around cups of ghayfa, though the tradition has been all but lost. At Chalet Gyumri you can learn how to make this unique drink, and bake a tasty traditional dessert also local to the city that can't be found in other parts of Armenia. Most of the ingredients you'll use come from their local farm, and the tools you’ll use to make and eat are antiques carefully saved by the Chalet Gyumri team.
Feast with the winemakers and founders of Trinity Canyon Vineyards
Trinity Canyon Vineyards is one of Armenia’s premier wineries, located just a couple minutes drive away from the Areni-1 Cave in the Vayots Dzor Province, where the world’s oldest winemaking facility was discovered back in 2011. In addition to a tour and wine tasting, you can actually sit down for a traditional Armenian feast with either their chief winemaker or their founder. As you dine on traditional Armenian dishes, you’ll learn the art of making a local toast, called a kenats [keh-nats] and the rituals that surround tasting making in Armenia.
Activate your senses with nontraditional gata at Daravand Guesthouse
Gata is a local sweet bread that’s usually filled with a simple flour, sugar, and butter filling. During this baking class, you’ll have the opportunity to create your own unique filling, using the gata as a way to better understand your creative possibilities. First, you’ll prepare the dough of your gata along with the base filling together with your host. Then comes the creative part: choosing from a wide selection of nontraditional ingredients, from lemon leaves, to black pepper, to vanilla, and everything in between, you’ll create your own unique filling that reflects your personality and taste. If you’re not sure about what flavors pair well together, your host will gladly help you make the right selection.
Bake ghapama, the ultimate Armenian dessert at Iris Guesthouse
Ghapama [ghah-pah-mah] is a sweet pumpkin dish that’s stuffed with rice, nuts, dried fruit, spices, and honey before being baked in an oven to golden perfection. It’s an authentic local dish that’s so popular that there’s even a favorite pop song all about it! During your experience, you’ll learn about the dish and its significance within Armenian cuisine, before you roll up our sleeves and start baking together with your host. You’ll make the entire dish from scratch, emptying the pumpkin, preparing all the fillings individually, stuffing the pumpkin, and baking it before eating your creation.
Photos: 2492 Travel, Forbes, Torontohye, Armenian National Committee of Australia, Caffeine Coffee Roasters.
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